ANDERSON - Dr. Timothy Duniho is confident that patients will be able to recover faster from minimally invasive surgeries performed with a newly acquired da Vinci Surgical System.

Duniho, a physician with AnMed Heath OB-GYN Associates, said patients will be able to go back to work faster with the new system. The surgical display on the new system is three-dimensional instead of two-dimensional as on conventional systems.

Using the display, the surgeons guide robotic arms to perform operations.

The technology provides surgeons with greater dexterity and reduces blood loss because they can work with more precision.

"It gives you better depth perception," Duniho said. "You can do things better than your own hands can do."

More than 75 AnMed Health staff members celebrated the launch of the hospital's robotic surgery program on Monday during an open house at the hospital. Staff members tested out the equipment by picking up pennies and stretching rubber bands using the new surgical system's robotic arms.

The $2 million surgical system will provide an alternative to traditional minimally invasive surgery.

The da Vinci Surgical System will initially be used at AnMed Health for the removal of the uterus and removal of prostate glands, but other procedures can also be performed more quickly with the technology. The system is expected to reduce the length of hospital stays and reduce blood loss, said Dr. Mark Lacy, a physician with AnMed Health OB-GYN Associates.

"It is exciting," Lacy said. "We have a team dedicated to this. We are all working together."

The system was used for the first time on Feb. 12 and has already been used for four surgical procedures. Other hospitals in the state have da Vinci Surgical Systems but AnMed Health became the first hospital in South Carolina with a high-definition version of the system.

The surgeon's fingers grasp the controls below the display of the surgical field and the surgeon's hand movements translate to real-time movement of surgical instruments inside the patient.

Minimally invasive procedures using conventional techniques force the surgeon to stand and use handheld instruments while looking up at a nearby monitor showing the anatomy of the patient. The surgeon must rely on an assistant to position the camera, according to AnMed officials.

The da Vinci Surgical System gives the surgeon the opportunity to sit down during the procedure with his hands in line with the instruments. The arms of the system can rotate almost 360 degrees and provide surgeons with greater dexterity.

Lacy said he has already used to the new system to perform a surgery and it allowed him to work more precisely. He said he was impressed with the technology and is convinced it will help to create fewer problems for patients after their surgery.

Marwan Marzagao, a clinical representative for Intuitive Surgical, the company that designs and builds the system, said AnMed Health is a progressive hospital. He said he is happy to see the surgical system arrive at AnMed Health and he helped to train some of the medical staff on how to use it.

"This has been one of the hospitals that I've seen tremendous efficiency," Marzagao said. "They have adopted the technology very quickly."